The Variable-Increment Counting Bloom Filter

—Counting Bloom Filters (CBFs) are widely used in networking device algorithms. They implement fast set representations to support membership queries with limited error, and support element deletions unlike Bloom Filters. However, they consume significant amounts of memory. In this paper we introduce a new general method based on variable increments to improve the efficiency of CBFs and their variants. Unlike CBFs, at each element insertion, the hashed counters are incremented by a hashed variable increment instead of a unit increment. Then, to query an element, the exact value of a counter is considered and not just its positiveness. We present two simple schemes based on this method. We demonstrate that this method can always achieve a lower false positive rate and a lower overflow probability bound than CBF in practical systems. We also show how it can be easily implemented in hardware, with limited added complexity and memory overhead. We further explain how this method can ex...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2012
• Where: INFOCOM
• Authors: Ori Rottenstreich, Yossi Kanizo, Isaac Keslassy
• Keywords: Bloom Filters, Communications, INFOCOM 2012, Membership Queries, Unit Increment